The entire Taiji Palace was silent, and Wang Chong could sense an imposing gaze staring down on him from above.
There was only one word to describe the feeling Wang Chong got from that gaze… ‘unfathomable’.
From ancient times, it was said that ‘accompanying the emperor is no different from accompanying a tiger’ and ‘the heavens are unpredictable’. Wang Chong couldn’t feel any emotions from the gaze, and he couldn’t peer into the thoughts of the Great Tang’s ultimate overlord either.
Wang Chong kneeled motionlessly on the ground. The palace was so silent that he could hear his own heart beating.
Perhaps it was countless eons later, or maybe it was just an instant, but Wang Chong finally heard an authoritative voice reminiscent of thunder booming in the palace.
“Wang Chong. I heard that you oppose to my regional commanders and utilizing Hu talents policies?”
The voice was nonchalant, and not a single emotion could be sensed from those words.
Wang Chong’s heart jolted. The question of an emperor had to be answered, just that, this question wasn’t a simple one at all. To put in mildly, Wang Chong was expressing his opinion on the Sage Emperor’s intentions, but at the same time, it could also be said that he was refuting the Sage Emperor.
“Yes!”
Wang Chong replied despite his hesitation.
“Speak!”
That authoritative voice replied nonchalantly with a single word.
“Yes!”
Lowering his head, Wang Chong replied respectfully. An air current gushed through the palace, blowing straight toward Wang Chong. Wang Chong’s heart flew away along with this gust of wind.
Somehow, Wang Chong suddenly heard Big Uncle Wang Gen’s words in his ears:
“The less you speak, the fewer mistakes you make. If you don’t say anything, it’s impossible for you to be wrong!”
“No matter what His Majesty asks, you have to respond. Even if you don’t know, you have to say that you don’t know. However, take note of your words, and exercise caution.”
“You don’t understand politics, so for your first meeting with His Majesty, don’t aim to accomplish. Instead, aim not to err.”
“This matter concerns our entire Wang Clan. It won’t just affect you. Your father, me, your big aunt, your uncle, and everyone else will be implicated as well. Thus, no matter what, you mustn’t be reckless. Remember this!”
…
This advice was the distilled essence of Wang Gen’s decades long career in politics, Although it sounded cowardly, there was no better advice for inexperienced scions such as Wang Chong.
‘The less you speak, the fewer mistakes you make. If you don’t say anything, it’s impossible for you to be wrong’. Facing the emperor was no small matter. Given the Wang Clan’s current standing, there was no need for Wang Chong to contribute to the family through this matter.
What was imperative however was for him to not err!
Just that… Recalling the matters in his previous life, Wang Chong couldn’t allow himself to remain silent. The regional commanders and utilizing Hu talents policies were the source of Great Tang’s calamity.
The opportunity to face the emperor didn’t come by easily. This was a golden chance for Wang Chong to advise him. If he were to miss out on this chance, he would never be able to forgive himself.
Thus, Wang Chong steeled his resolve and purged himself of all hesitation.
“His Majesty, the regional commanders and utilizing Hu talents policies are sure to be sources of calamity for Great Tang. These policies mustn’t be passed!”
Kneeling on the ground, Wang Chong voiced his thoughts in detail. This included the arguments he used to convince the elders back then in the Four Quarters Embassy.
No one knew better than Wang Chong what kind of dangers the regional commanders policy would bring in the future. The chance to reverse destiny was lying right before Wang Chong, and he had to grasp it!
“Your Majesty, the Hu is an independent faction in itself. They will only protect and promote their own members! Such behaviour would inevitably bite back at Great Tang. Your Majesty, please reconsider this matter!”
After finishing his piece, Wang Chong kneeled motionlessly on the floor.
These words came straight from Wang Chong’s heart, and they were his earnest opinion lf the matter. Those who had never experienced that chaos back then could never imagine the extent of the ramifications of the issue.
To Wang Chong, the words he spoke to his grandfather and the Sage Emperor wasn’t just a possibility. They were a prophecy of something that would come!
However, he was currently the only one in the Central Plains who knew what would happen if things were allowed to go down this path. No one could have imagined that the ultimate fate of Great Tang hung by the thoughts of the Sage Emperor at this very instant.
For a very long time, the palace was silent.
After what that felt like an eternity, a voice finally sounded.
“I understand, you may leave now! After you return, compile what you have just told me into a memorial and submit it to the royal court!”
This was the third and final time the emperor had spoken to Wang Chong ever since he entered Taiji Palace.
“Yes!”
Wang Chong jolted in surprise. He hurriedly answered before bowing respectfully and backing out of the palace.
Hu!
Walking back down the white jade stairs, the huge gust of wind blew, and Wang Chong shuddered involuntarily. Only then did he realize that he was completely soaked from his top to his shoes.
‘Accompanying the emperor is no different from accompanying a tiger’, the pressure he felt in the brief moment in the Taiji Palace was simply too great. Under that pressure, the effort required to verbalize each word was a battle in itself.
However, that wasn’t what Wang Chong was concerned about.
“I wonder if His Majesty has taken my words in.”
As he went over the encounter in his mind, Wang Chong felt worried. Even until now, he still wasn’t able to fully comprehend what had just happened, and he wasn’t able to determine whether the trip was a success or a failure. He had no way of telling whether or not his words had struck a chord with the emperor.
During the meeting, Wang Chong had raised many issues, speaking of all that he thought was necessary to deal the future catastrophe. But from the start to the end, the Sage Emperor had only spoke to him three times.
“Wang Chong. I heard that you oppose to my regional commanders and utilizing Hu talents policies?”
“Speak!”
“I understand, you may leave now! After you return, compile what you have just told me into a memorial and submit it to the royal court!”
With just these three sentences, not only was Wang Chong unable to gauge whether the Sage Emperor was infuriated or pleased, he couldn’t even ascertain whether the other party had listened to what he had said.
On top of that, what did the Sage Emperor mean by instructing him to submit a memorial?
“Wang gongzi, this way!”
A familiar voice beckoned. Recovering from his daze, Wang Chong saw a golden carriage parked not too far away. A eunuch dressed in a golden robe inlaid with cloud-pattern embroidery stood beside it; it was the same head eunuch who led him to the palace previously.
“The mind of an emperor is truly unfathomable!”
Wang Chong sighed as he stepped into the carriage.
Amidst the rumbling of the carriage, Wang Chong left the royal palace, returning back to the Wang Family Residence.
…
‘The emperor’s decree must not be defied’. As soon as Wang Chong returned, he penned down his thoughts, along with some of his ideas regarding the kingdom’s currency into the memorial.
That very night, Wang Chong passed the memorial into the hands of the head eunuch to have it sent to the royal palace.
After which, Wang Chong pushed everything to the back of his mind and began cultivating the complete version of 《Little Yinyang Art》.
Hong long!
It was said that something as small as the flutter of a butterfly’s wing can ultimately cause a typhoon halfway around the world. Wang Chong could have never imagined the far-reaching consequences of his memorial. The following day, when the memorial appeared within the royal court, a huge uproar erupted amongst the officials.
“Ridiculous! Wang Gen, is this the stance of your Wang Clan? Your Majesty, your humble subordinate wishes to impeach Wang Gen, as well as that Wang Chong!”
During the morning assembly, Head Censor Zhou Zhang became immensely agitated. With a sudden bellow, he dashed forward and grabbed Wang Gen’s beard.
Hua!
A commotion immediately broke out within the royal court. No one could have imagined that Zhou Zhang would actually get physical in public.
“Lord Zhou, let go!”
“Zhou Zhang, what do you think that you’re doing?”
“Before the Son of Heaven, how dare you act audaciously!”
…
The palace descended into chaos. All of the officials circled around Wang Gen and Zhou Zhang in an attempt to mediate the conflict. However, before this wave could subside, another one rose.
Putong!
Within the Taiji Palace, the ground suddenly trembled. It was as if a meteorite had crashed onto the ground. Right before the eyes of the officials, a burly figure walked up, kneeled heavily on the ground, and kowtowed.
“Your Majesty, I, your humble subordinate, Abusi, have contributed greatly to Great Tang through my hard work. The heavens can bear testimony to my loyalty. Your Majesty, please redress my grievances!”
Following which, dong dong dong, figure after figure kneeled down within the palace. In the two centuries since Great Tang’s establishment, the Hu had already become an integral part of the royal court.
Wang Chong’s memorial had caused all of the Hu generals within the royal court to kneel and kowtow to the Sage Emperor.
In an instant, the din in the royal court vanished.
No one could say a single word after seeing those kneeling Hu officials! With his robe unkempt from the brawl with the Head Censor, Wang Gen stared at the kneeling Hu subordinates, and his face changed.
And this was nowhere near the end of the matter.
Hualala!
Countless pigeons, black kites, gyrfalcon, and eagles flew from the capital to all over Great Tang. There had never been a day where so many birds had flown out of the capital before.
The birds completely covered the skies as far as the eye could see
Upon seeing this sight, even those who had lived in the capital for several decades were stunned.
“Preposterous! Preposterous! Preposterous!”
In the Western Regions Protectorate Manor in charge of defending against potential aggressors from the Western Regions, an emerald-eyed, full-bearded Hu bellowed furiously.
“I’ve contributed so much to Great Tang by guarding its western borders. How dare a small child insult me like that! He has to die!”
Hong long!
The emerald-eyed Hu raised his hands and slammed it on the metal table before him. With a loud boom, it crumbled beneath his immense might. The force even caused the ground to tremble, raising a dust cloud of nearly a hundred zhang high above the manor.
“‘The Hu is a faction in itself. The Han promotes the Hu, but the Hu only promotes the Hu.’ Feng Changqing, aren’t you a Han as well? How dare this brat spout such lies, he must be tired of living!”
In the desert of the Western Regions, a sandstorm blew. An army consisting of five thousand armored troops slowly advanced. The one leading the army was a dashing general with a well-groomed beard. He had a disposition reminiscent of the towering mountains and vast oceans.
Even though he possessed no distinctive traits which set him aside from the Han, the Silla jade token on his waist betrayed his identity.
It was the Assistant Protector-General of the Western Protectorate Manor, Duke of Miyun Go Seonji.
He was the only Silla Assistant Protector-General in Great Tang, as well as the most powerful Silla man in Great Tang. He possessed unparalleled authority among the troops stationed at the western borders of Great Tang.
Go Seonji was known for being refined, and even when infuriated, he would still retain his composure. However, at this moment, Go Seonji right hand clasped shut, and kacha, the backbone of the war steed he was riding on suddenly fractured. All of a sudden, it collapsed onto the ground, never to move again.
A short tanned Han man behind him watched the sight worriedly. This was his first time seeing the commander fly into such a rage.
“He hurriedly answered before bowing respectfully and backing out of the palace.”
Speaking of this issue, it is a tradition not to turn one’s back on a respected figure. It is highly impolite to turn one’s back on the emperor. As such, officials usually bow and back out of the room with their back bent. Only after stepping out of the room will they turn around and walk away normally.